B.A. SOCCER LEAGUE

SUMMER GENERAL MEETING

September 23, 2017 – 12:30 p.m. – Blackburn Arms Pub

• Introductory remarks by Ray, noting that a fall general meeting was proposed and approved at the previous AGM in March 2017, as a means of increasing participation and transparency in the league. The BA now has semi-annual general meetings (mid-September and early March).
• Minimum age officially dropped to 23 from 25: There was some confusion at the AGM in March 2017 about whether the league had officially lowered its minimum age from 25 to 23 and, if so, whether this was temporary or permanent. The assembly in March asked that the issue be revisited at the new summer general meeting.

Howard Weingarden specified that the age had been dropped to 23 by executive order in 2016 (an action allowed by the Constitution), but not voted on officially by a full assembly. Ray therefore suggested that, if there were no objections, we officially adopt the new minimum age of 23 as it will help with recruitment and all new players go through a vetting process anyway.

A motion to that effect and to amend the Constitution accordingly was moved by Jared Kitcher, seconded by Boris Bogatirev and carried unanimously.

• Ray presented the President’s Report. Highlights were:
  • Spares were in short supply and high demand this outdoor season.
  • Potvin fields have generally been well maintained and in good shape.
  • The AGM in March called for a re-writing of the Constitution, with separate by-laws; Ray hopes to have a draft ready for the March 2018 General Meeting.
  • Changes and additions to the BA Executive:
    • Andrew Devries, Bernie Pilon and Brian Garson added; now eight members.
    • Brian Garson has agreed to transition into the treasurer’s position, to replace Howard in 2018.
    • Exec has created a Finance Committee, after a suggestion by Jared Kitcher, to help with oversight, transactions and transparency; members as of Sept. 2017 are Howard Weingarden, Brian Garson, Jared Kitcher and Jim McKenzie.
    • Romeo Pantalone has accepted the new position of equipment coordinator for the league; managers were instructed to hand in their team kits to him at the end of the outdoor season.
• A game ball for each team kit: A motion was moved by Lambert Broeren, seconded by Doug Spencer and carried unanimously that the league buy new game balls so that all six summer team kits have one included.
• A motion that nominations for executive positions be either one or two years at the discretion of the new member was put forward by Ray Martel, seconded by Jared Kitcher, and carried unanimously. This will facilitate operations by staggering exec turnover and ensuring continuity.
• Ray turned the floor over to Howard Weingarden, Treasurer, Official Photographer and Water Boy, to present the Financial Statement, Year Ending March 31, 2017. Discussion and highlights were:
  • Last summer season was painful financially. Revenue was down and expenses were up resulting in and $800 deficit
  • This year, to date, the league has a $9,000 cash surplus (float).
  • Some discussion followed as to the possibility of using this to reduce registration fees, but it was noted that the surplus or float is needed to maintain a significant cash flow when expenses have to be paid prior to all revenues being received, for example rental installments on the dome and uniform costs before registrations are paid in full by everyone.
  • 2016-17 financial statement to be voted on officially in March 2018: Since it was not the league’s year-end yet (Oct. 31), the financial statement could not be officially tabled and voted on. This will be done at the March GM.
  • The statements will be posted on the website in the meantime.
• Jared Kitcher, as Head of the Disciplinary Committee, noted that there were no major issues, and the number of disciplinary actions was about average this year.
• Uniform update: Steve Cock gave a presentation on the uniform situation and noted that having players return their jerseys has reduced the cost of buying complete sets of jerseys every year. He stated that each year, as more jerseys are returned, the situation improves and costs go down.
• There was a general discussion on what OCSL level of player was allowed to play in the BA, as it seemed unclear in the Constitution what the cut-off was for players in current competitive-level leagues.

Howard Weingarden quoted from the current Constitution, which says OCSL Men’s Premier and C1 players are not accepted in the BA. After some discussion, It was mentioned that there was no need to change the constitution since the issue could be dealt with by executive order or special meeting. It was moved by Howard, seconded by Phil Lefebvre, and carried unanimously, that this process be used to deal with the situation should it arise.

The meeting was adjourned at 13:40 hrs, 23/09/2017. A self-registered participant list is attached.

Blackburn Arms Soccer League AGM Record of Decisions

March 2, 2017

Blackburn Arms Pub

Adoption of Agenda

• Agenda was amended to include discussion of shirts and team rebalancing and then adopted.

 

Adoption of previous minutes / Minimum age limit

• The minutes of the 2016 AGM were adopted following a clarification that the minimum age for participation in the league was moved to 23 years, but with no additional clause to allow 19-22 year- olds who have a “Sponsor” within the league. It was agreed that the age limit would be discussed further at a general meeting of the league to be held in summer 2017.

 

Business arising: Status of Ray Martel as President

• It was noted that although no president of the league was nominated at the previous AGM, Ray Martel has been fulfilling this position through mutual agreement of the executive effective March 2016.

 

President’s Report

Affiliation with Ottawa Gloucester Soccer Club (OGSC)

• It was clarified that the Blackburn Arms is an official non-voting affiliate of the OGSC. This allows us to make use of OGSC staff for registration, field bookings, etc.

Summer League Fields

• The summer league will open at Hornet’s Nest fields for 5 weeks followed be a move back to Potvin fields. Alternate games will be played on Carrière, Barrington and Portobello. A note was made to discuss game times at Portobello field with Cindy and possibly Tim Tierney as previous games had to be held at 11am due to noise concerns.

BA succession planning:

• Final main point of discussion was a need to focus on succession planning in the league to ensure we have people who feel confident and capable of stepping up to fill voids left by senior membership.

 

The president’s report was carried.

 

Budget Reports

• The 2017 proposed budget was carried, though clarification was provided that the cost of the uniforms was much lower than recorded in the proposed budget. Outdoor registration fees remain at $200 for outfield players and $100 for keepers, with fees of $25 to register a spare and $10 per game played as a spare.
• The 2016 report was not tabled, but agreement was reached that it would be posted on the league website in the coming weeks for review.

Uniforms

• Steve Cock provided an update on uniform expenditures and progress on the initiative to “Recycle” shirts. A discussion took place and it was agreed that we would continue to request voluntary returns of unwanted uniforms at the end of each session in order to reduce uniform costs moving forward.

 

Motion to rework Constitution and Bylaws

• A motion was put forward to perform a “Cleanup” of the league constitution and bylaws and replace these with a single document of bylaws to be presented at a general meeting held in Summer 2017. This motion was passed with the condition that the constitution and bylaws remain as two separate entities. These will be presented at a general meeting to be held in summer 2017 for review and approval.

 

Terms of Office

• A motion was put forward and carried setting terms of office for executive positions at 2 years. These terms will be staggered such that the positions of President and Treasurer will be up for re-election in March 2018, with all other positions up for re-election in March 2019.

 

Addition of a new executive position

• A motion was put forward and carried to have a 6^th position added to the executive. This position may either be filled by a Past-President or a member at-large through election at the AGM.

 

Formation of a Discipline Committee

• A motion was put forward and carried to form a Discipline Committee comprised of three members.

 

Secretary’s Note: The league constitution seems to already allow the formation of a sub-committee on discipline at the discretion of the league management board. I am not sure it was necessary to vote on this 😉

 

Elections

• Ray Martel was elected to the position of President through to March 2018.
• Howard Weingarden was elected to the position of Treasurer through to March 2018 pending his acceptance of this position, as he was absent.
• Romeo Pantalone was elected Vice President through to March 2019.
• James Cuthill was elected to the executive as a Member at-large through to March 2019.
• Mark D’Agostino was elected to the executive as a Member at-large through to March 2019.

The newly created 6^th position of Past-President / Member at-large was left vacant.

• Jared Kitcher was elected to head the Discipline Committee, with Mark D’Agostino and Ross Wilson filling the other two committee positions.

Championship Rewards

• A poll was taken to determine the preferred prize for champions and cup-winners with options of t-shirts, hoodies and golf shirts put forward. The vote resulted in 12 votes for hoodies, 2 votes for t-shirts and 2 votes for golf shirts.
• However, it was recognized this is a non-binding vote and the league management should select the prize (which is not necessarily restricted to an article of clothing) at their discretion with consideration for the wishes expressed by the members through this vote.

Re-balancing teams

• A motion was put forward and struck down that proposed leaving 1 position from each team vacant at the onset of each season.  This position could then be filled by a player from the waiting list based on balancing concerns once teams have been evaluated in action.
• It was agreed that re-balancing of teams would remain at the discretion of the league management board with a request from the membership that they take a fairly cautious approach to re-balancing.

 

Summer General Meeting

• A motion was put forward and passed to add an annual meeting of the league to be held in the summer months. The intent of this meeting is to allow a greater portion of the membership the opportunity to put forth motions and have input into the direction of the league. The Agenda will be put forward by the league executive.

 

Agenda Items for Summer Meeting

• In addition to reviewing the constitution and bylaws, it was recommended that the following items be placed on the Agenda for the Summer Meeting in 2017:
• Clarification as to methods of payment accepted, including the option for deferred payments
• Revisit the league age limit of 23 with a consideration to adding a clause that younger members need to have a “league sponsor” who may or may not be placed on a team with them.

 

Meeting adjourned at 11:45 p.m.